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The Next 7 Tools You Need to be a Better Home Handyman

You've got your basic tool seta trusty hammer, tape measure, level, circular saw, and moreall the obvious ones you need to get started as a home DIY-er. But to tackle even more around-the-house improvements, you need a bigger arsenal.

You've got your basic tool set—a trusty hammer, tape measure, level, circular saw, and more—all the obvious ones you need to get started as a home do-it-yourselfer. But to tackle even more around-the-house improvements and woodworking projects, you need a bigger arsenal. With these additions—some power tools and some simple hand tools—you can complete projects faster, easier, and better.

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Miter Saw

This versatile saw lets you make fast, precision crosscuts and angle (miter) cuts. It's the tool of choice for cutting trim, and indispensable for woodworking projects. Prices have plummeted over the past few years, so now you can pick up one for about $80.

However, if you're planning on doing a lot of fine woodworking, it's worth spending the extra money and upgrading to a sliding miter saw. This sliding feature lets you cut wider pieces of wood. Those models start at $200, but you'll appreciate the increased cutting capacity.

I use my miter saw more than all my others saws combined. It sits on a workbench, so it's always ready when I need it. As your first project, build a miter saw table or bench so you can work at a comfortable height and support long pieces of wood.

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Lithium-ion Driver

Two advantages of a lithium-ion driver: It's lightweight compared with a nickel-cadmium-battery driver, and it holds a charge for up to 18 months. When you grab it, it's ready for action. And when it does run low on juice, you can recharge it in just 30 minutes.

Over the past decade, this battery tech has helped cordless drills hit their stride. Prices start at less than $50, but spend another $25 (or more) for a compact model—even these small tools pack a solid punch for 12 volts. Sure, they don't give you the power or multispeed capabilities of drivers with 18 volts or more, but you can drive 100 deck screws per charge with no problem. Plus, they fit into tight spots, like drawers to replace the slides, and slip comfortably into your tool belt or apron. And if you want to step up in price into the hundreds, you can get impressive power, as PM's comparison tests of heavy-duty Li-ion drivers have shown.

This might be one of the most obvious choices on our list, but for good reason. My lithium-ion pocket driver is one of my go-to tools. In the past month, I've used it to assemble a shelving unit, drive screws in a deck project, and hang cabinets in my neighbor's garage.

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Brad Nail Gun With an Air Compressor

You can now buy an air compressor, hose, and brad gun–stapler for about $160. The gun is great for tacking together pieces of woodworking projects, installing trim and molding, hanging paneling, and making furniture repairs.

Once you own the gun and compressor, you'll be surprised how often you use them. The gun makes nailing exceptionally fast, and the nailheads are so tiny that they're nearly invisible—or at least easy to hide under wood filler.

I can't imagine undertaking woodworking project like cabinets, kitchen roll-outs, or a bookcase without my handy brad gun. It cuts down dramatically on assembly time compared with gluing and clamping. Plus, I can attach a blowgun to the air hose to quickly clean off my workbench.

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Cat's Paw

Not every must-have tool hits you hard in the wallet. A multipurpose cat's paw, which is basically a small nail puller–crowbar, starts at less than $11. It'll serve a variety of uses, such as prying molding or trim away from a wall, and light demolition work. But its claim to fame is its unparalleled ability to pull nails buried in wood. You can whack the paw with a hammer to work the claw under embedded nailheads. And I freely admit to using my cat's paw in ways it's not necessarily supposed to be used, like a makeshift chisel and scraper.

Since it's small, it fits in a tool belt. There are a lot of versions of this tool. I like the one with a curved nail puller on one end, which looks like a cat's paw, and a flat pry surface on the other end.

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Reciprocating Saw

This is the king of demolition work. With the right blade, it'll quickly chew through wood, drywall, metals, tubing, and more. You can buy specialty blades for removing grout and pruning trees.

Saw prices start at less than $50. Manufacturers offer a lot of bells and whistles, such as adjustable handles and adjustable pivoting shoes, that aren't worth the extra money unless you plan to frequently use the tool. A tool-less blade change feature is a nice, but it's available on even the most inexpensive models.

You'll want to pick up—and if possible, test out—a recip saw before buying one. Some are just plain bulky and heavy, and I've used ones that vibrate so badly they hurt my forearms. But when you find the right one, it's heaven. A few hardware stores and other places that sell tools will let you handle them; otherwise, try out a friend. Or, you can simply go with the industry standard: This kind of saw is typically called Sawzall, after the Milwaukee version, and there's a good reason for that It's consistently one of the best, and perhaps the best.

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Speed Square

This is another essential but simple tool that won't break the bank—you can pick one up for $8. Every pro has one of these in his tool belt, and for good reason. It's perfect for quickly marking cut lines on lumber, serving as a guide for cutting with a circular saw, and laying out angles for rafters and stairs. (Speed Square is actually a trademarked name for the product. The generic, and less popular, names for it are angle square, rafter angle square, and square layout tool.)

I bought my first Speed Square about 20 years ago for my first construction job and have used it repeatedly ever since. The numbers are a bit faded and the tool has its share of dents and dings, but it has outlasted three tool belts. It's worth your dime to buy a metal square, since their starting price is about the same as the plastic ones that always end up breaking.

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Oscillating Tool

When Fein Tools produced the first oscillating tool, it cost several hundred dollars. But now that the patent has expired, other companies have jumped into the market and slashed starting prices down to about $80 (prices for blades and accessories, however, can add up quickly). The tools work by having very small, very fast vibrations that power a wide variety of interchangeable accessories.

Names change by brand, but oscillating tools all do the same things: cut wood, drywall, and metal; sand in tight corners; remove grout; and scrape paint. Once you own this jack-of-all-trades tool, you'll appreciate its range of uses.

As with reciprocating saws, you'll want to try out these tools before buying. They all look and feel basically the same—when they're off. But when you turn them on, some vibrate so bad that they're uncomfortable to hold, which makes accurate cutting difficult. Take the time to try them out, and you'll thank yourself later.

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